聚散分离

i just realised i left this post unedited and unpublished for a very long time.

so many many days ago i made a burnt sugar ice cream. basically, it's a caramel ice cream.

which turned out tasting like werther's original. which i don't like that much. so it's still stuck in the freezer. slow-moving inventory? inventory obsolescence expense?

and i made a chocolate cream tart again. with beranbaum's chocolate tart dough - it's simply the best i have come across so far, which is not many, but it bakes up fine each time.

the chocolate cream is greenspan's recipe, which has also started to take root in my go-to recipes. i made some tart shells in aluminium molds, but also made some free-form ones by draping them over small cake tins to create ragged-looking shells.

beranbaum also teaches us a few ways to waterproof blind-baked tart and pie crusts. you could use an egg white wash - brush a thin layer of egg white onto the crust when it comes out of the oven; this will harden into a shiny layer that waterproofs the crust. however, a better way is to brush the cooled shell with melted chocolate and stick it briefly in the refrigerator for the chocolate to harden. of course, use chocolate only if the filling is compatible. (and you could use white chocolate as well.)

so melted dark chocolate for chocolate tart shells, to be filled with chocolate pastry cream. and then dollop white, soft, whipped cream on it.

and for a certain movie in 3D, the plan was to potluck dinner and sneak the food in. so i packed a lunchdinnerbox with croque monsieur and chocolate tart.

it's still very interesting to think about how the french created all their sauces. from a roux to a bechamel, a family of white sauces, then a family of brown sauces. then oil-based sauces. and butter based sauces.

nash equilibria

challah is the jewish celebration bread made with lots of eggs and yolks. with white flour, the dough is a bright yellow.

i was using the CIA recipe, which always turned out to be too wet, but this tie i added flour cautiously and decided to stop at a sticky point, hoping that some oil and subsequent folding would correct it.

turns out, it was barely manageable; at some points the dough's sticky insides came out and i had to flour the table often to prevent sticking. but i had fun braiding. i made 3-, 4-, 5- and 6-stranded braids.

the braids puffed and merged together slightly, but they were still pretty. golden and fragrant.

i also made one circular braid. i think traditionally that represents continuity. but in the end the circle is still broken and eaten.

in the middle of ICT, i made some cake.

i made an almond sponge cake batter and spooned it into mini paper cups for little cupcakes. and then i found out that a sponge cake batter is possibly viable for up to 40 minutes after you finish preparing it, that is, while the batter immediately begins to deflate, there is still enough time to work slowly.

i also ladled some batter into bigger tins, and the cakes rose like souffles. so cute!

and then i finally used up the egg whites in the freezer making italian buttercream.

and icing the mini cupcakes, and assembling a cute little tall cake with the buttercream.

but sometimes, when your heart isn't there, nothing turns out right.